USA Africa Dialogue Series - FINALLY! Fashola reacts to soldiers' attack on BRT

FINALLY! Fashola reacts to soldiers' attack on BRT

2014-07-08 06:22

Following the carnage left on Friday after soldiers allegedly set ablaze some BRT buses, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has cautioned law enforcement agents from taking the law into their hands.

Rampaging soldiers burnt BRT busues in Lagos
Rampaging soldiers burnt BRT busues in Lagos


A BRT bus allegedly hit and killed a soldier on the dedicated BRT lane at the Palmgrove area of Lagos, causing a mob action by fellow soldiers who went on the rampage and burnt many BRT buses.
But Fashola, who spoke with newsmen on Monday, said he was still waiting for an official report on the incident.

"It's really disappointing, to put it mildly, that public servants – and that is what soldiers are – paid with taxpayers money will act in a manner that is being suggested here. And I say being suggested because I am waiting for the official report to let me know who really played what role, what happened, whether or not even the Brigade Commander has been able to identify the people who were involved", he explained.

The governor further lamented the carnage, wondering "how damaging public property is restitution for any injury that may have come. There is an allegation that somebody who was not supposed to be on the BRT route was there and as far as I know if something happens to you while you are conducting an unlawful act, it is a criminal offence in its own sense."

Also on Saturday night, the Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, condemned the assault on civilians. At the grand finale of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature held on Victoria Island, Lagos, he said it was wrong for the soldiers to attack people because one of their own was killed in an accident.

According to him, civilians get killed or wounded in various accidents or any other tragic circumstances.

He said, "How many people die every day in this nation? How many people are mauled down? How many civilians have lost their lives due to the lunacy of Boko Haram?"

Soyinka commended the military for their efforts at fighting terrorists and called for support for them. He, however, insisted that soldiers had no right to put themselves above millions of other people.

On the soldiers' reprisal, he said, "There is a play by Ola Rotimi – Our Husband has Gone Mad Again. Now, our military has gone mad again. They are totally out of control. Their action on that day was treacherous. They were attacking civilians instead of protecting them."

From: THE PUNCH

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